Yesterday felt like March in so many ways. March Monday nights in 1999 and the early 2000s. Nights in Saint Louis when everything was in its right place. Late nights spent drinking beers with college buddies and celebrating important Creighton basketball wins.
Touching down in San Diego in early evening, the weather was reminiscent of some of the nicer, milder treks to Arch Madness. And by the end of the night, with the Bluejays toting an 85-83 comeback win with them out of Viejas Arena, I was sprawled on a hotel bed, Bud Light tallboy in hand, watching ESPN recount some of the greater moments from a Creighton win. Just like some of those March Mondays years ago.
Granted, with 6 minutes left in the first half, I felt last night how those Southern Illinois fans probably felt in March 2003 in Saint Louis. Nothing going right. Everything working for the opponent. San Diego State couldn’t miss a shot, it seemed, and every bounce was going their way. The Aztecs are athletic, tall, and not afraid to play off the hype of a full and boisterous Viejas Arena crowd. Down 17 with halftime closing in, it seemed the Bluejays had run into a buzz saw.
I’ve been conditioned during recent seasons to accept these types of losses. But the Jays provided the most telling statement of the short season that indeed the days of lopsided and overmatched performances on the road are history. Over the final 5 minutes of the first half, Creighton managed to capitalize on an Aztec slump and cut the deficit at a rapid pace. SDSU scored just 4 points over the final 5 minutes, missing all but two field goals and bricking five free throws. Meanwhile Ethan Wragge hit two quick triples, Grant Gibbs found Austin Chatman for a hoop, and Doug McDermott completed a traditional three-point play, knocked down a three, and connected on a pair of free throws to lead the Jays to within 4 points at the break.
Still, at intermission, defeat seemed merely delayed by the flurry at the end of the first half. And half way through the second 20 minutes, despite a more aggressive Antoine Young and McDermott’s steady scoring touch, the Jays trailed by 7.
Meanwhile “The Show,” San Diego State’s student section, kept pouring their energy directly at Creighton’s bench — complete with a rousing and raucous rendition of the “I Believe That We Will Win” chant that shook the riser holding my seat. A year ago — actually, any CU season in recent memory — the Jays would have folded. The Aztecs’ individual talents, their coaching ability, and the building itself lead me to believe SDSU is the toughest team the Jays will face this season outside of Koch Arena. But instead of giving in, Greg McDermott’s team followed the lead of their senior point guard, their sensational sophomore, their Glue Guy, and their sharpshooter en route to a 25-12 run over the next 8-plus minutes.
The blue-clad fans scattered throughout the sections immediately behind the Creighton bench fought to be heard, but as the Jays took the lead and built a 6-point margin with 2 minutes to play these CU backers received far less resistance from The Show and the other Aztec fans. Seemingly almost on script, SDSU’s Jamaal Franklin hit two three-pointers, which bookended a triple by James Rahon, keeping the Aztecs in the game and forcing Greg McDermott’s team to keep executing at a high level offensively. They did, with Doug McDermott answering Franklin’s first three with a quick layup off a remarkable pass from Grant Gibbs (see below). Young answered Rahon’s bomb with a remarkable and-one opportunity, but the senior guard missed the free throw. Franklin calmly sank another three, and the not-so-calm Viejas Arena crowd joined as one to serenade McDermott’s team in a timeout huddle. Leading 82-81 with less than a minute to play, three-point specialist Wragge caught a pass from a penetrating Jahenns Manigat and drained a jumper to give the Jays a three-point lead. Two free throws by SDSU’s Xavier Thames cut the margin to one again, and Manigat could convert only one of two free throws with less than 10 seconds left. But he tracked down his own miss during a wild scrum, diving for the ball while Aztec Chase Tapley merely reached down to make a play. Game over. Party just beginning.
San Diego State fans filed out of the building in disbelief, while Creighton players charged toward the locker room with exuberance not lost on the CU fans still in their seats. The players deserved to be pumped; they fought back against an extremely challenging combination of talented opponent and oppressive atmosphere. So it wasn’t surprising to learn that in the locker room, players tweeted parts of the chant to a wired and tired Creighton community online after the game. Heck, Creighton started trending on Twitter. The virtual love for the Jays continued late into the early morning hours Thursday, by which time more traditional media outlets were catching up to the importance and magnitude of this non-conference road win.
A few more thoughts as my delayed flight to Omaha gets its wheels up.
Doug McDermott was spectacular, but his teammates capitalized on attention paid to him down the stretch.
As I tweeted post-game reactions feverishly after resurfacing from the basement bandbox that is Viejas Arena, cellphone connection restored, a follower brought to my attention that I had left Doug McDermott out of my hurried and frantic recaps/kudos. It was unintentional, but not unsurprising. I’m being conditioned to assume McDermott will lead the Jays in scoring and rebounding, all while displaying a cool and collected aura around the hoop and in the huddle. Even after a slow start against an Aztecs team focused on pressuring his every touch, McDermott settled down and schooled SDSU with a combination of crafty low post moves and torrid three-point shooting. But it was Bluejays other than McDermott who made the difference offensively during the decisive stretch of the second half.
McDermott hit a triple on a sweet assist by Gibbs with just about 8 minutes to play, pulling the Bluejays to within 2 at 62-60. From then until Gibbs connected on a rope — the best pass I’ve seen by a Jay this season — to McDermott for a layup with 90 seconds left, the star sophomore didn’t score. Instead, guys like Young (7 points), Gibbs (4 points), and Wragge (5 points) hit a combination of pull-up jumpers, drives to the hoop, free throws, and timely three-pointers.
He rarely came off the floor (36 minutes), and the Aztecs rarely left him alone for any clean looks. So McDermott trusted his teammates to take over where he left off, and the result was a great individual performance (25 points, 12 rebounds, numerous clutch plays) and a team win.
Greg McDermott and the coaches deserve credit for making adjustments.
As much as Doug McDermott got national publicity for leading Creighton to victory, dad and head coach Greg McDermott was the real star in San Diego. From keeping the players calm and righting the ship after the game started in just about the worst way possible, to replacing Gregory Echenique with Wragge down the stretch due to match-up problems, Coach Mac made the moves necessary for the Jays to leave the Left Coast with a win. By keeping a quick pace in the first half against a team that was hitting on all cylinders but playing really only 7 guys all night, McDermott was able to wear down the Aztecs before the break, leading to the run that got CU back in the game. By limiting Josh Jones’ minutes in place of expanded time for Austin Chatman, McDermott got another pass-first guard on the floor who has the speed and vision to create great shots for his teammates. The first 15 minutes of the game belonged to national championship coach Steve Fisher. The last 25 were McDermott’s.
It was nice to see vintage Antoine Young.
I’ll be honest: while the returns have been positive early this season, and the wins nice, I’ve missed watching Antoine Young as a scoring point guard. Sure, I nerd out at unselfish play, and I love the perfect pass. But not since Ryan Sears has CU had a point guard who can do the things offensively that Young brings. And last night might have been Young’s best performance as a Bluejay.
He picked his spots (18 points on only 12 shots). He didn’t cough up the ball (4 assists to zero turnovers). And he was on the court 32 minutes leading his team. McDermott may be the star, but this is Young’s last year to play in the NCAA Tournament. He’s shouldered high expectations, a coaching change, a lack of help, and a physically bruising junior season. Hopefully for the senior guard this year is his payoff.
Is this the biggest non-conference true road win in the last 10 years?
The last time Creighton received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament was 2001, when an RPI in the 20s and a regular season MVC title was good enough for the Jays to overcome a semifinal loss to Indiana State in the Valley tournament en route to the Big Dance. That season CU won at Nebraska for the first time since the 1930s, but that was their best road non-con win that year. The 2001-02 NCAA Tournament team lost at TCU, lost at BYU, and lost at Western Kentucky. The 2002-03 team, one of the best in Creighton history, lost a wild game at nationally ranked Xavier. The 03-04 squad started 12-0 but none of the non-Valley road games were worth mentioning. Perhaps a one-point win at Xavier fresh off winning the Guardians Classic in Kansas City in November 2004 was the most recent road win away from MVC play before last night’s.
My point? If the Jays don’t win Arch Madness but string together the type of season they seem capable of, the win at San Diego State could be the difference between a trip to the NIT and a date in the NCAA Tournament. The Mountain West Conference is still a good one, minus Jimmer and the stars of the past few seasons, and the Aztecs are as good as their record indicates through the month of November. Cheer hard for SDSU, Creighton fans. That win could pop up on ESPN as frequently in early March as Doug McDermott graced the Worldwide Leader’s replays last night.
